Driving Me Crazy

So in Los Angeles there are a ton of freeways. There’s the 105, 110, 10, 5, 170,101, and the 405. Not too confusing, right? Wrong. And I think there’s even more than that, but hey I’ve only been here two weeks. Cut me some slack. The first piece of driving advice I was given when I came into the city was, “Sometimes to go north you need to go south first.” …….. Excuse me? On what planet does that make sense? Apparently here in the one and only, City of Angels it does. Sometimes you need to get on the 405 north to get on the 101 south. But don’t worry. You don’t have to do too much ‘quick thinking’ here when you’re driving on the freeway, because you’ll be stuck in traffic for an hour and be moving rougly 35 miles an hour. You’ll have plenty of time to look at the GPS that you’ll praise the gods for having, because without it, you might just die right then and there.

Is traffic as bad as they say it is? Yes. But it does have a lot to do with what time you are driving and what freeway you’re driving on. 405 is the worst of them all. However it’s the best freeway to meet people. Want some new friends? Just make sure you have a car in the lane next to you that looks as though they could potentially be your friend. Trust me. You’ll have plenty of time to bond with them. Hey, maybe it will be Usher next to you! Who knows! Just roll down that window and try calling a friendly hello over to them. If they don’t respond and seem as though they have no interest in talking to you, no worries. They aren’t going anywhere. You have plenty of time to get them to change their minds. But in all honesty, try to avoid the 405 at all cost. But especially during rush hour. Because I promise you…you will not be rushing anywhere.

When you drive in the city area, there are lights everywhere and it’s always busy. It’s usually an easy drive, up until you have to make a left turn. Sometimes it’s a breeze and they have that beautiful green arrow, letting you just continue along peacefully. But sometimes (most of the time), there IS no arrow. And you have to make that dreaded turn on a super busy street where no one wants to let you go. But I was given some helpful advice from a friend that apparently is an unspoken rule here. The first two cars in the ‘turn left’ lane, will be able to go as soon as the light turns red. Always. Two cars. When it turns red. Otherwise you may never get to turn. So either try this unspoken rule out, or maybe just avoid left turns all together.

Well those are just a few things I’ve learned about driving here so far. When I know more, I’ll let you know. Trust me.